Greg Biffle promotes Safe Digging

Common Ground Alliance Teams with 3M and Race Car Driver Greg
Biffle to Promote National Safe Digging Month This April
National "Call Before You Dig" number, 811, to be featured
on Biffle's No. 16 3M Ford Fusion
WASHINGTON, March 18, 2010 --...

Common Ground Alliance Teams with 3M and Race Car Driver Greg
Biffle to Promote National Safe Digging Month This April

National "Call Before You Dig" number, 811, to be featured
on Biffle's No. 16 3M Ford Fusion

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2010 -- The Common Ground Alliance
(CGA), the nation's leading organization focused on
protecting underground utility lines and the safety of
people who dig near them, today announced it has
collaborated with CGA member 3M and Greg Biffle, driver of
the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion, to promote National Safe Digging
Month this April.

Biffle, well-known in the racing community for building his
own house and doing other projects that involve digging,
will promote National Safe Digging Month, most notably by
featuring the logo of 811, the national "Call Before You
Dig" number, on the hood, deck lid and spoiler of his No. 16
3M car during the April 25 race at Talladega Superspeedway
in Talladega, Ala.

In addition to the prominent placement of the 811 logo at
Talladega, Biffle will serve as the National Safe Digging
Month spokesperson throughout April.

A quick and easy call to 811 before digging helps protect
people from unintentionally hitting underground pipelines,
cables and utility lines, which can put the person who digs
at risk and cause service interruptions to entire
communities. Every digging job requires a call - even small
projects like planting trees or shrubs.

Everyone who calls 811 is connected to a local one-call
notification center that will take the caller's information
and communicate it to the local utility companies. A
professional locator will then visit the dig site to mark
the approximate location of all underground utility lines
with spray paint or flags. Once a site has been accurately
marked, it is safe to begin digging around the marked areas.

"As a do-it-yourselfer, and someone who is known for being
hands-on when it comes to my activities off the track, I
strongly encourage everyone to call 811 before breaking
ground to have all underground utility lines marked," said
Biffle. "This simple call will help you avoid cutting a
cable or electric line, or any other utility for that
matter, keeping you and your neighbors safe and connected,
and ensuring you don't miss a minute of action on race day
or any other day."

3M, an international leader in utility and utility locating
products, as well as utility damage prevention, was
instrumental in securing the collaboration with Greg Biffle,
which will benefit all CGA stakeholders by raising awareness
of 811, the national "Call Before You Dig" number.

"3M is proud to support National Safe Digging Month and the
'Call 811 Before You Dig' message. Our alliance with Greg
Biffle creates another way to raise awareness of this
important safety issue," said Rory Yanchek, general manager,
Track and Trace Solutions at 3M. "We look forward to the
increased exposure this campaign will no doubt produce."

"The CGA is very appreciative of the support of members
like 3M that have a similar desire to keep Americans safe
and protect our country's vast and complex underground
infrastructure," said Bob Kipp, President of Common Ground
Alliance. "This partnership provides a great opportunity to
promote 811 and remind millions of Americans of their
responsibility to call before digging."